As The Snow Comes Down
by Wavewalker
Summary: After a mission goes bad Duo and Heero end up snowed in. Yaoi 1x2
1. Duo's Point of View

As The Snow Comes Down By Wavewalker Rated PG-13  
  
The icy wind whipped through the trees as I stumbled my way towards the promise of warmth offered by the glowing windows of the safe house. Well not a house really it was just a small cabin with a main room for living, eating and sleeping in and a small bathroom in the back right corner. At least the thing had electricity.  
  
I had seen Wing in the cave used as a hanger. I was hoping Heero wouldn't mind the company 'cause you see I was not supposed to be here. I had been sent to the West coast of Canada for a simple break in, get the information; get out then blow base type mission. Simple right? Well it was supposed to be. The intelligence reports had stated that there were only minimal ground personnel and one mobile suit squadron. Which is nothing for the great Shinigami to handle ne? I would greatly enjoy disembowelling the stupid shit that had reported that load of crap.  
  
Not only had the number of ground troops been greatly underestimated, oh by say 100 or so, there had also been three squadrons of Ares, in for a refit. They had been there for over 48 hours so many of them were in top working condition. I really want to get my hands on the informant who missed an influx of troops that size; Dr. G needs to check out his information before he sends it to me.  
  
I am proud to say that even grossly out numbered I still kicked some serious ass! I am just really lucky that the topography of the area gave me so many places to hide, and that this storm started up. Between my hyper-jammers, cloaking ability and the snow I was able to escape with only minor personal injury. The rest of the mission was a bust though the information reported to be there was not to be found, I don't even know if it even existed.  
  
So now here I am trudging through snow up to my knees somewhere in the Canadian Rockies, hoping my best friend wont mind me crashing with him tonight. Ah who am I kidding Heero's going to be pissed that the mission failed, we are going to have to start double checking all mission data before attempting it, this is the third mission in the last while that has gone sour.  
  
Oh good there is the door; I can't wait to get inside it is freezing out here. I hope there is a fully stocked first aid kit; while I am not badly hurt some of my injuries need a little medical attention. Damn can't get my hands to work, I knew I should have dressed more warmly. I lean against the door and pull my food back to give it a kick, hoping that Heero will hear me, as I do so the door opens and I fall into the arms of an irate, gun toting, Japanese teen. The night is looking up. 


	2. Heero's Point of View

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed my first chapter. This is the first story I have ever posted, and I don't know how long it is going to be. I have part of it plotted out but after that I will be winging it. This part will be in Heero's point of view and the chapters after this I am thinking of changing to third person omniscient, dialogue between two people is just too hard to do in first person singular. Thanks again for reading this.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Gundam Wing.  
  
As The Snow Comes Down By Wavewalker  
  
Chapter 2  
  
My fingers pause hovering over the keys as the sensors on the hanger door alert me to a friendly access not forced entry, so it must be one of the others. I can eliminate Chang and Barton because they are in the northwestern and southwestern hemispheres respectively. Winner's last position was recorded to be in Northern Africa. That leaves only Maxwell, his mission was to be in the area but his planned vector should have taken him south and east of this position.  
  
A frown appears on my face as I contemplate the possible reasons for his arrival at this safe house. There is a distinct possibility that he is here for the sole purpose to 'keep me company' otherwise known as 'see how many times he can goad me into drawing my gun on him in one day'. Although lately, he has stopped doing most of the out right stupid pranks, and switched to trying to draw me into conversation. That coupled with the number of compromised missions we have all under taken in the last month lead me to believe that his arrival has little to do with his desire for my company.  
  
We have been very lucky so far that the compromised missions have only involved one Gundam at a time, and that OZ still seems to underestimate our strength. It could be disastrous if OZ managed to spring a trap capable of bringing down more than one Gundam. We could survive with the loss of one Gundam but more than that would lessen our efficiency by too great of a margin. While the loss of the actual Gundam could be absorbed the loss of any of the pilots could not.  
  
Despite my early training with Dr. J I have come to value my fellow pilots. I am finding it harder every day to distance my personal feelings for them from the part of me that fights this war. I cannot allow my feelings to interfere with my performance in battle.  
  
I must admit at the beginning of this war I would have found it ludicrous if anyone had told me I would be calling anyone my friend let alone Duo Maxwell or the other pilots. With out Duo's dogged perseverance it likely would have never come about.  
  
I bring up the video feed from the hanger and frown as I see Duo exiting the hanger without a coat, or any cold weather gear at all. I rise and throw some more wood on the fire, the baka is going to be freezing by the time he gets here, it is a good 10 minute walk in good weather, more like 20 in these conditions. I also get out the first aid kit; he appears to be moving stiffly; therefore he may be injured. I put the kettle on to boil and gather up all the towels I have available. I dig out the only pair of sweat pants I own and place them near the fire to warm, Duo's things will either be soaked or freezing cold after the hike to the cabin and the last thing I need is for him to become ill.  
  
My internal timer tells me he should be almost at the door. As I draw near the doorknob rattles but does not turn, it should have the lock is not engaged. I frown again as I hear a soft thud against the door. I pull it open and end up with my arms full of shivering Duo. 


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: I am so sorry about how long it has been since I updated last. My only excuse is school I am a full time College student taking an Environmental Technology program. It involves several labs each accounting for three hours of class time and at least the same number of hours out of class. I also have had two major tests in the last two weeks and three more this week alone. I am working on the next chapter of Malaise but don't expect it up until next week at the earliest. I will be reposting chapter 2 of Malaise due to a brainstorm I had which wont work unless I add some things into the last chapter. Don't worry there wont be that many changes, just a couple of additions. Sorry again for taking so long I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter. If you have any suggestions or see any glaring errors please let me know either in a review or in an email. Until the next chapter happy reading.  
  
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its associated characters belong to its creators; only this addition/revision to the series' plot belongs to me.  
  
As The Snow Comes Down: Chapter 3  
  
By Wavewalker  
  
Heero quickly pulled the shivering teen inside and shut the door. He frowned at the slight pained noise Duo had made as his hand had tightened its grip on his shoulder. He knelt down and after a moment managed to untie Duo's snow encrusted bootlaces and yanked off the sodden footgear. Heero noted that Duo seemed to be drifting staring down at him with a dazed expression, body still shivering trying to produce more heat. In one swift motion he rose and swept Duo into his arms, turned and strode towards the fire.  
  
Duo had been staring bemusedly down at the top of Heero's head, idly noting that he had two cowlicks and that must be why his hair always looked so tousled. 'Man I would hate it if my hair was like that' he thought. He had been so lost in thought that Heero's next action took him completely by surprise, the swiftness of the motion was too much for his fatigued body to handle so he just closed his eyes and clung to Heero hoping that he would not do something foolish like pass out.  
  
Heero deposited Duo back onto his feet before the fire, quickly propping him against himself when it became apparent that Duo was not going to stay upright on his own. He frowned at the large bruise forming on Duo's shoulder noting that as the probable source of the earlier whimper. Heero was becoming worried due to the braided teen lack of response as he began stripping Duo of his wet clothing. Usually by now Duo would have tossed out some sort of suggestive comment about Heero's actions. He only got a response when he reached for Duo's damp black boxers.  
  
Duo knew he should be alarmed about his inability to get his body to listen to listen to him, but now that he was inside it was like everything had gone on standby mode. When Heero started removing his clothes he tried to muster up the energy to say something anything, but could not. Only when faced with the reality of Heero seeing him naked sparked his will to move.  
  
"Heero wait, don't." Duo stuttered, blushing madly, as he feebly tried to bat Heero's hands away from his underwear, nearly toppling over in the process.  
  
"They are wet," Heero frowned, Duo had not been body shy when they first met, but he did not reach for the boxers again. He instead picked up a towel and wrapped it around Duo's hair to soak up the moisture in it. He used a second towel to vigorously rub Duo dry. Duo had to brace his hands on Heero's shoulders as his legs were being dried. Heero helped Duo into the top half of the sweat suit and guided him down onto the couch.  
  
"Duo the boxers have to come off," was all Heero said before he thrust a dry pair and the sweat pants into Duo's hands, before turning to the kitchen area to give Duo an illusion of privacy. Heero was confused; Duo had never acted shyly before now. He pondered the possible meanings of the blush Duo had had, while he prepared some hot chocolate for the chilled teen.  
  
'Could he be attracted to me and embarrassed by his nudity in front of his crush?' Heero quickly squashed that hopeful little thought. 'Duo could never be attracted to me, he is too open and cheerful to want someone as cold and hard as me.'  
  
When Heero turned back to Duo he found the braided teen staring listlessly, half dozing, into the fire. He was pleased to note that he had changed into the dry clothes. He approached Duo slowly making sure to enter his line of sight before entering his personal space or attempting to touch him. Even as tired as Duo was now Heero was betting that he could still do appreciable damage if startled. They had been fighting for too long now to ever really let their guard down completely even with each other.  
  
Duo had been slightly shocked by Heero's courtesy over the whole boxer issue and even more so when he had given him some privacy to change them himself. He really did not know why the idea of being naked in front of Heero was suddenly so disconcerting; usually he would have relished the chance to get a rise out of the stoic pilot of Wing.  
  
Duo nearly groaned as he bent at the waist to remove the damp boxers, he did draw in a sharp breath when he reached for the dry pair with the bruised arm, 'Damn that hurts!' he thought. After dressing in the borrowed sweat suit he settled back and curled his cold feet up underneath him. He was not sure how long he had been gazing at the fire, nearly asleep when motion to his left caused him to look up, his body tensing before his brain could process that it was only Heero retuning with a steaming mug of what he hoped was hot chocolate.  
  
As Duo struggled to get him self into a more upright position, Heero set down the mug and grabbed one of the blankets stacked at the other end of the couch. He sat down beside Duo and pulled the braided teen over to lean on him, draping the blanket over Duo once he was settled. Heero then leaned slightly forward and retrieved the mug and passed it to Duo.  
  
Duo who had suddenly found him self pressed up against Heero's side tried at first not to lean on him, but the additional warmth and the surprising offer of comfort became too enticing to ignore. Wrapped up in a blanket, with Heero supporting him and a cup of hot chocolate in his hands Duo could do nothing less than offer Heero a sleepy smile of thanks and relax.  
  
Minutes passed while Duo slowly sipped his drink and stopped shivering. Heero had placed his arm loosely around Duo's shoulders hoping to offer some sort of comfort. Though he touted following ones emotions, being able to expressing his own was still somewhat new to him. Duo gradually came to rest his entire weight against Heero, as he fell asleep.  
  
When Heero noted this he carefully removed the mug from Duo's hands. He frowned and cursed himself for not thinking of pulling out the couch into a bed before Duo fell asleep. He gently picked Duo up, pausing each time he thought Duo might be awakening and carried him over to the only other piece of furniture in the room an overstuffed chair. He gently settled Duo down and swiftly set up the bed hoping that Duo would not awaken. He then successfully managed to transfer Duo from the chair back to the bed and to climb in after him without waking the sleeping teen. As Heero pulled the blankets over them Duo turned and snuggled into his arms. Heero could not stop a small smile from forming as he thought of how nice it felt to hold Duo in his arms. 


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note:  
  
Hello everyone I hope you are not too mad at me for not posting anything sooner. I honestly meant to have this chapter and the next chapter of Malaise out last week while I was on holiday. I previously mentioned that I planned on revising chapter 2 of Malaise but after rereading it again I realized that it was fine, I could work in my idea with out making any changes. I just can't get the next chapter to sound right. I have the first section of it written but I have scrapped four different versions of the rest of the chapter to date. It is driving my crazy so I decided to write this chapter instead. I will try to get it written sometime soon but I really only have time to write on weekends due to school so I don't think I will have it out until next weekend at the earliest.  
  
Author's Note 2:  
  
Just a warning Heero will be acting OOC. I need him to be somewhat less of a cold bastard than he normally is portrayed to be for my plot to work. This is a 1x2/2x1 fic I have yet to decide who will make the first move. I plan on eventually making this fic part of a continuing story line. As I doubt that I can write a good lemon, this fic will probably not get past the lime stage. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Happy reading.  
  
Disclaimer:  
  
I do not own any part of Gundam Wing nor am I receiving any monetary reimbursement for writing this fic.  
  
As The Snow Comes Down  
  
By Wavewalker  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Duo slowly became aware that he was being held, someone's arms were wrapped around his torso pinning his arms between their bodies. This realization was followed by the knowledge that he had no idea who was holding him. His sleep-befuddled mind snapped into high gear as adrenaline crashed through his system sending him into a frenzy of motion, attempting to get away from his captor.  
  
His panic only increased as the person holding him managed to keep hold of his twisting body and neutralize his frantic kicks by rolling on top of him using the full weight of their body to hold him down. It took some time for him to register that his assailant was talking to him and even longer for him to recognize the voice. His vision slowly refocused as he found himself looking into the wary eyes of Heero Yui.  
  
As his panic receded he began recalling the events of the previous night and made a conscious effort to relax his body and smiled at Heero to let him know that he was all right. His attempt was met by a brief expression of what could be relief in Heero's eyes before he broke eye contact and began pulling back off of Duo.  
  
"How are you feeling?" asked Heero after he had settled onto his side on the bed, leaving almost a foot of space between their bodies. He had been startled out of a surprisingly deep sleep by Duo's first movements; he was not surprised that Duo had reacted badly to waking up in his arms. They had all been through too much stress lately to respond to physical contact in a positive manor. He knew of at least two instances in which Duo had been captured and tortured and waking up confined in any way was bound to cause a negative reaction.  
  
"I'm ok Heero. Umm sorry about the uhhh.." Duo's speech stuttered to a halt as he realized that the entire incident had stemmed from the fact that Heero had been holding him when he woke up. A blush spread across his cheeks and he quickly averted his eyes.  
  
A small frown flitted across Heero's face as Duo blushed and looked away. His theory from the previous night could be plausible or Duo could just be embarrassed about his reaction this morning. Heero had to admit to himself that he wished that Duo had felt safe in his arms. He had been watching the braided pilot for the last few months and he had come to realize that Duo meant more to him than just a comrade or even as a friend. He considered Duo to be his first friend. No matter how many times he had tried to push him away, Duo had kept coming back, forcing Heero to interact with him and eventually learn to enjoy his off the wall humour.  
  
The fact that Duo found his touch and the idea of being naked in front of him embarrassing could be taken as a sign that Duo liked him and did not know how to handle himself around him. Heero did not think that it was just Duo being body shy, he had wandered around in a towel back during the first months they had known each other. In fact Duo had often stripped down just to annoy him. He knew Duo had once stripped down and showered with Quatre to make sure the injured Arab would not hurt himself after he had been concussed during a mission.  
  
Heero drew in a deep breath and reached out and laid his hand on Duo's shoulder remembering not to squeeze it due to the bruise he knew lay beneath the baggy sweatshirt. Catching Duo's gaze he spoke softly.  
  
"Duo it is all right. I would have probably reacted worse than that; I am just glad you were not armed". He let a slight smile lift the corner of his mouth before rolling over and getting up. He did not look back as he walked away. "I will start breakfast when I get out, just stay in bed and relax," was the last thing Heero said before closing the bathroom door behind him.  
  
Duo lay there staring at the door completely floored by Heero's actions and words. It had only been three weeks since the last time he had seen the pilot of Wing and in that short time it seemed that a complete stranger had taken the place of his usually stoic friend. Not once since he had arrived had Heero made any derogatory comments or even glared at him. Duo was baffled.  
  
He felt faint stirrings of hope in his heart. Could Heero like him as something other than a friend? He had been trying to get Heero to see him as something other than an annoyance and thought he had been making some progress but not this much. He had noted that Heero had recently stopped drawing his gun and threatening to kill him once Duo had stopped pulling pranks on him.  
  
Duo turned and curled up facing the fireplace. He had first seen Heero as a challenge, a self-imposed mission to make his fellow pilot lighten up. It had soon grown into a wish for Heero to be his friend and lately he had realized that he saw Heero as something much more than his best friend.  
  
Duo had no problem with the fact that he was attracted to another male, despite his catholic upbringing. Father Maxwell and Sister Helen had both believed that love was precious whatever form it took. And that is what Duo believed he felt for Heero. Love. He had not felt this way for anyone since the destruction of the church. He knew that he would do anything for Heero, even die for him.  
  
Duo sighed and looked at the clock on the mantle, it read 11: 27am. He frowned the light level had led him to think it was much earlier near dawn in fact. He struggled upright breath hissing out through clenched teeth over the pain and stiffness of his body. The movement had also started his head pounding.  
  
He made his way to the window only to stop when he realized what he was seeing; the window was nearly completely buried by snow. The top edge of the window was lighter indicating that the snow ended just above that point.  
  
The sound of the bathroom door opening made him pivot to face Heero but the sudden motion proved to be too fast for his strained body to handle. The room seemed to continue to spin as a wave of dizziness swept over him causing his knees to buckle sending him to the floor. The next thing he knew warm arms were lifting him up, he groaned and clenched his eyes shut as the room swayed sickeningly around him. He was aware of being placed gently back on the bed, he only opened his eyes when he registered the slight note of panic lacing Heero's voice as he asked him if he was all right.  
  
Heero's heart had nearly stopped when Duo had crumpled to the floor. He met Duo's gaze allowing his worry to show in his expression. He had come to a decision while in the bathroom that the only way to find out what Duo thought of him was to be completely open and observe his reaction. He noted that Duo's hands were shaking and asked, "When was the last time up ate?" Low blood sugar was the only reason that he could think of for Duo's current state, as there had been no signs of a concussion last night.  
  
Duo's brow puckered as he frowned thinking back over the last two days. His eyes widened as he realized that it had been over 50 hours since he last ate anything and over 72 since his last real meal. He told Heero this he expected the Wing pilot to make a comment about his stupidity but was surprised once again when all Heero did was curtly nod and walk into the kitchen area.  
  
Duo started to sit up once again but quickly lay back down when the room started to spin once more. He closed his eyes and sank into the surprisingly comfortable bed, his thoughts wandering until he heard Heero approaching the bed once more. He opened his eyes to see Heero standing two feet away holding a gently steaming mug in his hand.  
  
Heero noted Duo's acknowledgement of his presence and sat down beside his prone friend. He leaned over and slipped his arm under Duo's shoulders helping him sit up slowly. He shifted himself behind Duo to prop him up and held out the mug.  
  
"It is just some soup, you need to get your blood sugar back up." Heero said as he helped Duo steady the mug as he sipped at it slowly. When the soup was gone Heero leaned over and placed the mug on the floor beside the bed. He made no move to get up choosing instead to gently wrap his arms around Duo, holding his breath while waiting for Duo's reaction.  
  
Duo was not sure what to do but his current weakness made pulling away a very distasteful idea. He finally sighed and relaxed back into Heero's embrace. He was rewarded by what appeared to be a gentle hug from Heero. They sat like that for some time until Duo was forced to rouse himself by a pressing need to urinate. He squeezed Heero's hands gently before pulling away and turning slightly to look at him.  
  
At Heero's questioning look Duo once again found his face heating up, as he had to ask Heero to help his to the bathroom, since he knew that his shaky limbs would not support him yet. Heero complied scooping Duo up into his arms once again moving slowly so as not to make him dizzy again. He placed Duo on his feet beside the toilet and after making sure he was steady he exited the room to give him some privacy. When Duo called for him he entered and carried Duo back to bed.  
  
"Heero do we have any analgesics? My head and shoulder are killing me." Duo asked once he was settled in bed once again with pillows propping him up into a semi upright position.  
  
"Yes, but I am not going to give you any until after you have eaten something more substantial than soup." Heero replied as he moved back into the kitchen area and began preparing a meal for the two of them.  
  
Silence reigned while both young men pondered the other's actions. The silence was broken when Duo once again noted the snow-blocked window.  
  
"Heero have you looked out the windows yet?" Duo inquired hoping that a large drift only blocked the one window he had looked out and that Heero who was facing to only other window could see out of it. His hopes were dashed as Heero replied that he had and that it appeared that they were snowed in. Duo was slightly shocked by Heero's utter lack of concern. Heero noting both the shock and worry in Duo's eyes pointed to the ceiling above the kitchen counter.  
  
Duo followed Heero's finger, there was a trap door directly above the counter, easily accessible by standing on the counter. Duo looked questioningly at Heero.  
  
"Heavy snow fall is usual in this area so most buildings have a method other than the door to exit by. We are not trapped and we have plenty of food so just relax." Heero replied.  
  
Comforted by the knowledge that they were not trapped Duo settled back into the soft pillows closing his eyes. He soon slipped into a light doze listening to Heero move around the kitchen, his last thoughts were that he liked this friendly and open Heero and he hoped he was here to stay. 


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Thank you for being so patient with me, your lovely reviews were great. I had a really rough semester at College and I could not afford the time away from my schoolwork to write. I had hoped to have a couple of weeks of free time in which to work on my fics but that is not to be, I start work on Sunday night on the midnight shift. I will try to get some work done on the next chapter of this fic and Malaise but no promises. The only thing I can promise is I will finish them eventually. I have started playing with the idea of working this story into a linked series of fics around all five of the pilots and the idea of there being a leak in the Doctors' information network. But that will be in the future. Enjoy the chapter and until next time happy reading.  
  
Warning: Heero is very OOC in this fic, as he has actual emotions. As we saw in Endless Waltz he does have feelings and a conscience but they are buried beneath some serious mental baggage.  
  
As The Snow Comes Down  
  
By Wavewalker  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Heero let his body, work on autopilot as he prepared lunch for himself and Duo; his mind was busy going over the events of the past hour. He was pleased with Duo's reaction to his tentative advances and they reaffirmed his decision to leave of his mask of the perfect soldier while they were stuck here. He had told Duo that they could get out at any time but in all likelihood the trap door was just as buried as the cabin as no sound of wind could be heard, as there would be if the roof were clear of snow. There was no point in needlessly worrying Duo at this time, as he had said they had plenty of food, water and fuel for both the fire and gas stove and oven.  
  
He became aware that there was no sound coming from behind him, he turned to check on Duo and found him asleep again. Heero frowned as he considered Duo's condition; he was lethargic, very pale, hypoglycaemic and exhausted. He mentally ran through the last few missions that Duo had been assigned, his frown deepened as he realized that Duo had been on five missions in the last week. If you factored in travel time Duo would have likely had approximately four to six hours down time between missions and probably very little time during the missions for things like sleep and food. Add to that the stress of not knowing if the information they received from the Doctors was accurate doubled the tension since the potential for traps was higher. This forced downtime is was likely the best thing that could have happened, the Doctors knew their position and would not send them any missions until contact could be re-established after the storm.  
  
They canned beef stew was finished so he ladled out two servings into the waiting bowls and placed them on a tray already containing a basket of sliced bread and a dish of butter and the necessary cutlery. He paused and turned to the refrigeration unit and pulled out a jar of raspberry jam, he had noted that Duo often had bread and jam as a snack and preferred raspberry to other flavours. The sugar in the jam would help boost his blood sugar level and the rest of the food would prevent it from crashing again. He poured two glasses of water, placed them on the tray and carried it into the living area.  
  
Heero carefully set the tray on the ground out of the way in case Duo woke up on full alert and left the bed in a rush this morning's violent awakening reinforcing his natural caution. Heero move to the end of the bed bumped the mattress with his knee while calling Duo's name. He was tensed ready to evade or deflect any attacks Duo might make and was pleasantly surprised when all Duo did was jerk his head up but relaxed when he identified Heero as the one who awakened him.  
  
A small smile appeared on Duo's face as he slowly settled himself in a more upright position against the pile of pillows behind him. The smell of the food was making his mouth water and his stomach growl quite loudly causing his to blush slightly. At the sound Heero looked up at him from his crouched position by the tray, one of his eyebrows rose upward and the corner of his mouth twitched up as well as he remarked, "I must make note to make sure you are fed before missions involving stealth, your stomach would give away your position very quickly."  
  
As this statement was delivered in a serious tone of voice it took Duo a few seconds to realize that Heero had actually attempted to make a joke. Duo eyes widened and his smile stretched into a grin as he chuckled in response. He watched as Heero settled the tray on the middle of the bed and carefully climbed on behind it. He scanned the contents of the tray and smiled when his eyes landed on the raspberry jam, the first real jam he had ever eaten had been raspberry. One of the Sweepers had come back from a vacation on earth not long after he had met Dr. G; she had shared one of the ridiculously expensive jars with the entire ship. It was one of his fondest memories of his time training with Dr. G, the old reprobate weird training methods, most of which did not lead to happy memories.  
  
Duo smiled once again when Heero passed him one of the bowls and a spoon. Duo curled himself into the pillows behind him and dug into the first real meal he had had in days. Before he knew it he had cleaned out the bowl, he blushed slightly when he realized just how fast he had eaten. Heero just set down his own bowl and held out his hand for Duo's; with it in hand he rose and returned to the kitchen to dish up another portion. This courtesy left Duo a little stunned; his smile of thanks was shaky.  
  
Duo ate this bowl at a much more sedate pace, glancing at Heero from beneath his lashes the whole time. Instead of his usual stone face Heero had much softer expression on his face, there were no drastic changes really only a general relaxing of his facial muscles. It was his eyes though that contained the greatest changes, they had lost their icy hostility and Duo would swear they had deepened in colour as if they really had had a layer of ice on them before. Duo stared down at his empty bowl lost in thought, over Heero's new openness. He could feel hope rising within his heart, he struggled vainly to squash it before it got any bigger. He loved Heero but would not jeopardize his friendship with the Japanese pilot; it had taken him too long to gain that tentative friendship to risk it all on a couple of hints of softer feelings that Heero might harbour for him.  
  
His musings were interrupted by a piece of bread spread with butter and jam into his field of vision. His eyes snapped up to meet Heero's and he was once again shocked at the amount of emotion to be found there, that and the slight smile hovering on Heero's lips. He numbly accepted the bread and nibbled on it slowly his thoughts once again drifting off into space. He barely felt Heero remove the bowl from his lap and leave the bed to return the dishes to the kitchen. At the shifting of the mattress signalling Heero's return Duo blinked his vision back into focus and found Heero much closer than he expected. Their faces were only centimetres apart.  
  
"You have a bit of jam right there." Heero murmured raising his hand to touch a spot to the left side of Duo's lips. Heero's next action caused the braided pilot's breath to catch and his heart to start pounding, as Heero had slowly leaned in and licked the smudge of jam from his face. Deep blue eyes met violet as Heero gently skimmed his lips over Duo's before pulling back to gauge his reaction. 


End file.
